The Internet is a fundamental infrastructure with a still largely untapped potential to address a wide array of economic and social challenges. Its open and decentralised design means that this potential is accessible to all. Bringing evidence-based analysis on the economic dimensions of the open Internet, including its impact on productivity, jobs and growth, the OECD’s long-standing work aims to help governments develop policies to make the digital transformation work for the benefit of all.

• Learn more about the cross-cutting OECD Going Digital project.
• Reports on Internet governance

 

OECD at the Internet Governance Forum 2021

Events organised or co-organised by the OECD IGF Workshop #86: A toolkit to measure and shape an inclusive digital economy 8 December, 11:15-12:45 CET IGF Open Forum #39: Inclusive and safe connectivity for children and adults 9 December, 13:50-14:50 CET IGF Open Forum #16: Globalpolicy.AI: Achieving impact through intergovernmental co-operation on artificial intelligence 9 December, 16:50-17:50 CET

The OECD will also participate in the following sessions:   IGF Parliamentary Session #3: AI governance: What do we regulate and how?, 8 December, 11:30-13:00 CET   IGF Workshop #196: Human rights impact assessments throughout the AI lifecycle, 9 December, 9:30-11:00 CET IGF Workshop #260: Internet resilience towards a renewed resilience for society, 9 December, 15:05-16:35 CET IGF Open Forum #26: Artificial Intelligence for consumer protection, 10 December, 15:05-16:05 CET

OECD at the Internet Governance Forum 2020

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Policy responses from COVID-19 and the digital economy OECD Open Forum at IGF 2020 Wednesday 4 November This open forum reported on the key messages from the OECD work on COVID-19 and the digital economy. It also presented some highlights from the forthcoming OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2020. Together with representatives of government, business, civil society and international organisations, it fostered a reflection on opportunities and challenges for the digital economy during and beyond COVID-19. More about the open forum Watch the replay The OECD also participated in IGF 2020 sessions on:    Strengthening implementation capacities for AI ethics   From principles to practice: artificial intelligence and the role of the private sector

OECD AT THE INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM 2019

	Once again in 2019 we were at the Internet Governance Forum where we organised two sessions. Watch the replays:   OECD Open Forum on Artificial Intelligence: From principles to practice   What operator model(s) for digital inclusion?
More OECD work on artificial intelligence More OECD work on broadband and telecom OECD events at earlier IGFs

 

Internet Policy Making Principles

The OECD Recommendation on Internet Policy Making Principles was adopted in 2014 amid concerns that the openness of the Internet was at risk. Aimed to preserve the fundamental open nature of the Internet while protecting privacy, security, children online, intellectual property and the free flow of information, the principles strengthen international co-operation and support a flexible, multi-stakeholder approach to Internet policy making, rather than an international regulatory approach. The principles are:

Promote and protect the global free flow of information  Promote the open, distributed and interconnected nature of the Internet  Promote investment and competition in high speed networks and services  Promote and enable the cross-border delivery of services  Encourage multi-stakeholder co-operation in policy development processes  Foster voluntarily developed codes of conduct  Develop capacities to bring publicly available, reliable data into the policy making process Ensure transparency, fair process, and accountability  Strengthen consistency and effectiveness in privacy protection at a global level  Maximise individual empowerment  Promote creativity and innovation  Limit Internet intermediary liability  Encourage co-operation to promote Internet security  Give appropriate priority to enforcement efforts

 

OECD AT PASt INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM EVENTS 

IGF 2018: The Internet of trust (12-14 November 2018, Paris)

The OECD organised two sessions:

• Well-being in the digital age. (Watch replay) While the impact of digital technologies on well-being is in many cases still uncharted territory, it is clear that there are both positive and negative impacts on people and communities. This workshop discussed some of the most important aspects for policymakers to consider when developing a digital policy framework to foster well-being for individuals and society more broadly, including how to best assess and manage the trade-offs. 
  
• Private sector "hack back": Where is the limit? (Watch replay) The private sector has been exposed to an exponentially increasing number and variety of attacks in the digital environment. Businesses should protect themselves, but they are dependent on their respective governments if they wish counter-offensive action be legally taken against attackers. With practices known as “hacking back” being within governments' prerogative only, how far should businesses be allowed to go in taking proactive defensive measures (also referred to as "active cyberdefense")? Should public policy evolve, in order to clarify the conditions, limits and safeguards for the private sector to resort to such techniques? Discussions at this session fed into the preparation of the inaugural event of the OECD Global Forum on Digital Security for Prosperity (Paris, 13-14 December 2018) which focused on the roles and responsibilities of actors for digital security. 

 

IGF 2017: Share your digital future! (18-21 December 2017, Geneva, Switzerland)

The OECD participated in several events at the IGF and organised the following panels:

• OECD Open Forum on the Going Digital Project: Making the Transformation Work for Growth and Well-being
• AI: Intelligent Machines, Smart Policies
• Policy and technology approaches for expanding broadband to rural and remote areas

>> Session descriptions and replays

 

IGF 2016: Enabling Inclusive and Sustainable Growth (Guadelajara, Mexico)

Panels organised by the OECD:

• OECD Open Forum: Reporting on the Cancun Ministerial 2016 Description | Video
• Broadband Policies for LAC: A Digital Economy Toolkit Description | Video
• Competition in the Digital Age: Between Status-quo and unknown Description | Video
• Internet of Things for Sustainable Growth Description | Video

 

IGF 2015: Evolution of Internet Governance: Empowering Sustainable Development (João Pessoa, Brazil)

Panels organised by the OECD:

• OECD Open Forum: Digital Economy for Innovation, Growth and Social Prosperity – towards the 2016 OECD Ministerial Description | Video
• Managing security risks for sustainable development Description | Video
• Connected vehicles: net governance and autonomous transport Description | Video

 

IGF 2014: Connecting Continents for Enhanced Multistakeholder Internet Governance (Istanbul, Turkey)

Panels organised by the OECD:

• OECD Open Forum: The Economics of an Open Internet
• Policies and practices to enable the Internet of Things
• Preserving a Universal Internet: The Costs of Fragmentation 
• Internet and Jobs: Creative Destruction or Destructive Creation?

 

IGF 2013 (Bali, Indonesia)

The OECD organised an Open Forum on “Policy frameworks for trust in the Internet economy: updating OECD guidelines on privacy and security” and a workshop on “An open Internet platform for economic growth and innovation”. 

 

IGF 2012 (Baku, Azerbaijan)

The OECD organised an Open Forum on ““Promoting policies for the Internet economy: Discussion of the most recent OECD Recommendations” and workshops on “Inclusive innovation for development: The contribution of the Internet and related ICTs” and “Measuring the economic and social impact of the Internet to inform policymaking”. 

 

IGF 2011 (Nairobi, Kenya)

The OECD organised an Open Forum on “Principles for an Open Internet” and workshops on “M-government for Effective and Inclusive Public Services" and on ”The Relationship between Local Content, Internet Development and Access Prices”. 

 

IGF 2010 (Vilnius, Lithuania)

The OECD organised workshops on ““How to measure communication and media in digital converging era”, “Cloud computing for leaner and greener IT infrastructures in governments (and businesses)” and “The Role of Internet Intermediaries in Advancing Public Policy Objectives”. 

 

IGF 2009 (Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt)

The OECD organised an Open Forum on “The Importance of Internet Access and Openness for a Sustainable Economic Recovery” and workshops on “Global ICT services sourcing post-crisis: trends and development", “Expanding access to the Internet and broadband for development”, and on “Using ICTs and the Internet to meet environmental challenges”. 

The OECD also participated in the IGF 2008 (Hyderabad, India), IGF 2007 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and the inaugural IGF 2006 (Athens, Greece).

One Internet On the eve of the OECD's third internet-related Ministerial Meeting, held in June 2016 in Cancun, Mexico, the Global Commission on Internet Governance (GCIG) published a report on “One Internet”. Calling for a new “social compact” for the internet, the 140-page report that was fed by 50 research studies has a number of recommendations. At the report launch, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría commented: "Getting Internet governance right has never been more pressing. In the past few years, we have benefited significantly from the expansion of the Internet, the most powerful information system the world has yet seen. But this outstanding evolution has brought new challenges that we must address, collectively, if we want to keep an accessible, inclusive, secure and trustworthy Internet. That is precisely what this report and this Ministerial are about. Count on the OECD to help achieve these goals and develop better digital policies for a better world." >> Read full remarks

Other reports The issues related to internet governance are broad and involve infrastructure, security, stability, privacy, intellectual property rights, national sovereignty (country domain names for example), etc. These issues have potentially wide-ranging social, economic and security implications. Select a theme: Telecom and Internet  |  Consumer protection  |  E-government and taxation  |  Taxation  See also: OECD Input to the UN Working Group on Internet Governance (pdf, 2005)